Against the "Status Quo"

[MattWoelfsen]

"Water weakly weekly" (WWW) is what is often recommended around this board and other websites. So the idea of watering first then feeding is moot--if you follow WWW. But I remember, many years ago, manufacturers of fertilizers recommended that plants should be fully irrigated before application of fertilizer. That is still recommended for fertilizing lawns. Most Americans I know who have beautiful green lawns follow this advice. Logically, if this works for grass, it must work for gardens, and potted plants. I have "premium orchid food" from a company called "Grow More" a product I purchased last year from Amazon. The label recommends that you "Pre-water plants the day before feeding if soil or bark is dry." Other advice is provided that assumes you feed your plants every 10 days or 2 weeks.

There is similar advice on the label of my fish emulsion fertilizer. So manufacturers are subscribing to the mythology even today.

[palm521]

that information looks valid for heavy feeders, should be applied to those orchids that have a weaker and/or more delicate root systems?

the type of media used is important, those plants that are over sphagnum , will obviously retain some of the fertilizer in it , and will be slowly disposed with each watering, effectively feeding it in the process.

but if the fertilizer is heavily diluted then i dont see why it cant be used in the proposed way. (however i recommend to be careful)

this feeding process should also be tied with how much sun the plants receive how long the day is etc. for my own practice if a plant gets more sun, it should gets more fertilizer

some orchids has a root system that is more delicate than others, for instance masdevalias roots are not the same as vanda roots.

as with any new or different information , it should be taken with a grain of salt , and investigate if the described process works for you, it might works for some , but it is possible it wont work for others, and could damage the plant(s) depending on the conditions the plant is grown.

just my 2 cents. here.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by HighSeas

Tucker, you're right....His books are so informative! I have "Growing Vanda's in Florida" and can't put it down. (I'll surely get the others). I also agree that I can't "blueprint" the same culture he practices but he does have quite a bit of science in there that I wasn't aware of. (That I plan to try)

I have never watered with plain water and then applied fertilizer afterwards....it just never made good sense to me. I was actually shocked to read it though since I've never heard anyone come right out and say it wasn't necessary. (According to their opinion)

Tucker...do you grow Vandas? Have you tried the Potassium Nitrate/ Magnesium brew he suggested?

For about a year I did use potassium nitrate with Magnesium (epsom salt). The idea there was to not apply magnesium with anything that contains phosphorus because it ties up the magnesium. When I ran out of potassium nitrate, I started applying the magnesium by itself which works just as well because there's no phosphorus. I grow mostly large cattleyas and they do very well with my fertilizing methods. I only have a few vandas but they're growing and blooming well also. I always like to learn new things and to experiment with culture techniques. Last month at the Reland's Orchid Festival I was talking to Martin Motes about some of his ideas. He's a very knowledgeable orchid grower.

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 PM ----------

Originally Posted by HighSeas

Tucker, you're right....His books are so informative! I have "Growing Vanda's in Florida" and can't put it down. (I'll surely get the others). I also agree that I can't "blueprint" the same culture he practices but he does have quite a bit of science in there that I wasn't aware of. (That I plan to try)

I have never watered with plain water and then applied fertilizer afterwards....it just never made good sense to me. I was actually shocked to read it though since I've never heard anyone come right out and say it wasn't necessary. (According to their opinion)

Tucker...do you grow Vandas? Have you tried the Potassium Nitrate/ Magnesium brew he suggested?

The information in Martin Motes book "Florida Orchid Growing" is almost identical to his book on vandas. The only difference is a few chapters on other orchids like cattleyas and oncidiums. All the culture information and the month to month information is exactly the same.

[HighSeas]

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 PM ----------

[/COLOR]

The information in Martin Motes book "Florida Orchid Growing" is almost identical to his book on vandas. The only difference is a few chapters on other orchids like cattleyas and oncidiums. All the culture information and the month to month information is exactly the same.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Tucker! That's VERY nice to know! I know you've commented that you know growers that have just used the magnesium with great success.

---------- Post added at 07:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:19 PM ----------

This is the first complete year that I've used RO water on my plants. I've noticed a big difference however, I'm seeing some yellowing which is giving me the impression that they are lacking in the micronutrients, even though I feed with MSU for pure water.

Is anyone watering with straight RO water between feedings?

[isurus79]

You should always add Cal/Mag supplement to your RO water. Water that pure is not good for plants over the long term. I've switched to mixing my tap water with RO water (50/50) to improve water quality (water in Austin, TX sucks, its VERY hard!) and I add Cal/Mag supplements to that water. Then I fertilize 3 weekends out of each month and this is the only watering I don't add Cal/Mag to the mix because its already in my fert.

[hanzy08]

I fertilize very dilutely every watering to avoid burning roots and I feel like watering with plain water first before watering with fertilizer is such a waste and the plants would only get very minimal amount of fertilizer and it's double work too.

[HighSeas]

Hanzy....I think you're right. The Cal-mag is easier than what I've been doing as well. Plus more reliable. Thanks!

[NYCorchidman]

I never watered first before feeding.
Either water day or feeding day.

Diluted fertilizer is literally so diluted that it can never burn the roots.

[RJSquirrel]

WWW was invented to keep us from killing our plants and wasnt ever reported as to be the best way to grow them orchids?

probably why I got a lot of skinny crap in a pot too huh?

I been doing this all worng

[DavidCampen]

Every time I water I use RO water to which I have added nutrients.